Bottle… October ‘09 O-Town Throwdown!… First off, this is red-hot mead. Lots of ethanol in almost all facets - the aroma, the finish and my brain. At 21% ABV, I expected it to be boozy and wasn’t proven wrong. Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll focus on other aspects… there aren’t many. Black currants… and lots of ‘em. The aroma and flavor are both straight-up black currants and heat - less heat in the flavor than the nose. Also, like black currants, the flavor is tangy and tannic. Medium-bodied and astringent with a dry, chest-warming finish. Bottle courtesy of Skyview!

UPDATED: SEP 26, 2012 Wow. Talk about a unique and delicious drink... I’ve never tried anything like this before. Deep, dark blood red color, with a huge nose of blackcurrants and rich syrah, and a bit of a bloody note as well, but really, really rich and complex. Rich and peppery on the tongue, biting, stinging and hefty on the palate, but not overly hot. Rich, meaty, bloody, consumed in dark, sticky, overipe plums, blackcurrants and red grapes. This is what the blood of a rare steak should taste like.

Rating number 2400 (and number 100 on the Outciders list) if I can figure out how to open the wax on this bad boy! Huge thanks to tytoanderso for this gem and some of the other white winters! Pours thick, like a port, but a darker and slight brown tinge to the otherwise red hue. The alcohol legs on this thing are monstrous! Huge and thick, stuck on as if by glue. Tons of alcohol on the aroma, but a not nasal burningly so. Currant berries that are a bit bitter, honey, vanilla, wood tannins, a bit of butteryness, raspberry, grappa. Taste is thick and soothing with a lot of berry, oxidized brown sugar, vanilla, wood, port and a decent amount of burn to remind you of the 21% ABV. Long, long, long duration that keeps evolving, with the currants and oak tannins taking a strangle hold on the honey wine. Now I am ready for another sip, yes, alcohol, and then rich jam and Madeira notes, brown sugar and vanilla oak, but still surprisingly low residual sweetness; not even remotely close to being cloying (like many detractors of Jadwiga can claim). Definitely thick and supremely alcohol, but not as viscous as one would expect on a mead of this alcohol (grain spirits are added which may cut this quite a bit). Deccadent, and pretty good. This stuff will get make one merrily smashed. Love it!

Thanks to Kan for opening this! Poured translucent blood red with some very fine legs.. sexy! The aroma picked up sweet, heavy current sweetness with lesser honey.. tart fruit skins amplified by substantial alcohol gave the final impression. The flavor began where the nose left off.. tart black currents driven mightily by the booze factor carried all the way through with honey providing more substance and mouthfeel than flavor.. became syrupy on the back with a lot of heat. Heavier on the palate and it finished with some alcohol burn.. overly hot, and I think a few years in the cellar might mellow it out.

Bottle sampled at the Great Taste of the Midwest (8/9/08): Pours a viscous dark amber with nice sticky legs. Aroma of rich sweet caramel, brown sugar, and dark fruits. Body starts fairly full and caramely dark honey sweet with a touch of tart fruity balance. Pretty smooth and hides the alcohol fairly well. A very complex and enjoyable mead.

500ml corked ceramic waxed bottle. Very cool little jug. Thanks, Pantanap! Crystal clear dark rubied deep red-to-black body. Headless, laceless. The nose is intense and super-condensed black currant. Plenty of honey too. Dry, almost tannic nose. Lots of booze on the nose and on the body, but that’s to be expected. Powerful slick and syrupy fruit notes, nearly overpowering, but still holds an intriguing balance to it. It’s about as much force as you can probably put behind some black currant and honey flavors, I imagine.

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